Late last year Nvidia released the new graphics processors called Geforce RTX and the new architecture Turing. The RTX cards have many good qualities, but are very expensive. And we now know that RTX was not the end for GTX cards, The brand new GeForce GTX 1660 and Geforce GTX 1660 Ti will probably turn out to be the most popular graphics cards in a long time.
The new GTX 1660 (without the Ti) cards are selling for $220 and up. They are intended to replace the GTX 1060 with 3 GB of video RAM, while the GTX 1660 TI is supposed to be an alternative to the GTX 1060 with 6 GB of VRAM.
The idea is to offer more affordable cards than the RTX series that are still pretty powerful. They are based on the same Turing architecture as the RTX cards but Nvidia keeps the price down by removing the two features that make the new RTX cards special, namely ray tracing and the DLSS anti-aliasing.
Today we’re looking at a GTX 1660 card from Gigabyte known as GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6 GB.
About the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6GB
Overview
- Graphics Processor : Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660
- Interface : PCIe 3.0 x16
- Connections : 3 DisplayPort 1.4, 1 HDMI 2.0b
- Memory : 6 GB GDDR5
- Theoretical computing power: up to 5,027 Gflops
- Measurements : 11.02 x 4.57 x 1.57 in
- Warranty : 3 years
- Price at launch: $239.99
- Manufacturer link
The card has three display port outputs but only one HDMI output, which might be a no-go for some buyers. There are some GTX 1660 cards that are a bit cheaper, but our card has a couple of positive features that can be worth a few extra bucks.
GTX 1660 cards from different manufacturers vary quite a bit in design. The cooling requirement for the Turing GPU is nothing out of the ordinary, so some manufacturers have chosen to skimp on the fans, or build high short cards with only one large fan instead of two or more.
Gigabyte cards tend to be of the traditional variety and this one is no exception. It comes with no less than three fans as well as a backplate that partly protects against damage and helps a bit with heat dissipation. The fans are set up to spin alternately and this supposedly allow them to work more efficiently.
When stressing the card with demanding games, there’s certainly a bit of fan sound, but it is never intrusive. Additionally, the fans come to a complete stop when the card is idle.
GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6GB Synthetics & Gaming Performance
Test system
- CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K
- MB: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra
- RAM: 16 GB Corsair 3,200 MHz,
3DMark Scores
Time Spy (DirectX 12): 5,627 points
Fire Strike (DirectX 11): 12,190 points
Vrmark: 8,771 points
Our tested games are Battlefield 1 Steel on Steel, Deus Ex Mankind Divided and Rise of The Tomb Raider. All games are tested with maxed out settings at 1080p.
1080p gaming at maximum settings is mostly smooth sailing, but in Deus Ex, getting above 60 FPS was simply too much for the GTX 1660 without dialling down the settings.
Turning up the resolution of 1 440p, 60 frames per second cannot be guaranteed unless you compromise with various settings. 4K gaming is perhaps theoretically possible, but then you’ll definitely have to lower your ambitions to 30 FPS and low settings in most recent games.
Aorus Engine
Gigabyte GPUs come with the Aorus Engine overclocking tool that allows you to set LED color/effects (the 1660 Gaming OC is very sparsely lit, with a single LED) and of course overclocking, manually or automatically.
There are better overclocking tools, but Aorus Engine does a decent job. And thanks to the triple fans on this GTX 1660, we were able to boost performance by 5–10% depending on the benchmarks.
Conclusion
If you’re choosing between an RTX card or a GTX card, or maybe the AMD RX 590, it is mostly a matter of how much you want to pay and if you think the RTX ray tracing features are important. Any GTX 1660 card including this one is an affordable candidate. If you buy a new PC that will perform well for several years, it may be worth investing in something more expensive, even if it’s not an RTX card.
To be honest, the advantages of RTX ray tracing is hampered by low frame rates. And there are few games utilizing the new technology anyway at this point. It looks great, sure, but it’s not a whole new gaming experience.
What sets the Gigabyte GTX 1660 Gaming OC apart is mostly the triple-fan cooling solution. It’s good for both cooling the card and keeping the noise level down. There are more compact cards available, but an extra fan is always worth it if it will fit in your build.
Pros
Good value.
Three fans
Quiet cooling
Cons
Only one HDMI port
Not as compact as other cards